As we have seen in the
preceding chapters, after his coming to the throne of Israel and his
victories over the Philistines, David evidenced a godly concern for the holy
ark, which had been so grievously and so long neglected. Zealous of the
divine glory, he had resolved to establish a place where Jehovahís worship
should be celebrated and where the symbol of His presence should be securely
housed. Accordingly, he gathered all the leaders of Israel together to bring
the sacred coffer to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6:1). But, alas, instead of heeding
the divinely given instructions for such an occasion and placing the ark
upon the shoulders of the Levites, he followed the evil example of the
heathen and placed it upon a new cart. In so doing he ignored the plainly
revealed will of God, and substituted a human device. The work which David
undertook was indeed a good one, his motive was pure, and his design was
praiseworthy, but it was executed in a wrong way. He introduced into the
divine worship that for which he had no "Thus saith the Lord."

David did not inquire
whether God had any will in the matter and ask, Whereon shall the
holy ark be placed? Rather did he confer with flesh and blood. It was at that
point he made his fatal mistake, and it is this which we need to take
carefully to heart. Instead of consulting the Holy Scriptures, he sought
counsel of men. It is true that he "consulted with the captains of
thousands and hundreds and with every leader" (1 Chron. 13:1), but as
Job 32:9 tells us "great men are not always wise," and so it
proved on this occasion. Instead of reminding David of the instructions
which the Lord had given through Moses (Num. 4:5, 6; 15:7, 9), they
apparently advised him to follow the way of the uncircumcised (1 Sam. 6:7,
8). By so doing, David spoiled his fair enterprise, and incurred the
displeasure of God. A good beginning had a bad ending because of departure
from the divinely prescribed rules of procedure.

The above incident has
been recorded for our learning, especially for those of us who are engaged
in the Lordís service. It points a solemn warning. It shows the imperative
need for zeal to be rightly directed, for there is "a zeal of God, but
not according to knowledge" (Rom. 10:2); this is a zeal to further the
cause of God and bring glory unto His name, which is not regulated by that
knowledge which His Word supplies. In our fervency to extend the kingdom of
Christ, to spread His Gospel, to point souls unto Him, we are apt to forget
His precepts, and do His work in our way. The danger is very
real, and in this restless age of great activity not a few are being
ensnared by this very evil. Many are so eager about the quantity of their
service, they pay too little attention to the quality of it: they are
anxious to be active in the Masterís vineyard, but they do not
sufficiently consult His guide-book as to how their activities must
be conducted.

Davidís well-meant
effort turned out a failure. The Lord manifested His displeasure. David,
accompanied by a large number of musicians, went before the ark, playing
"on all manner of instruments" (2 Sam. 6:5). But when Nachonís
threshingfloor was reached, the oxen drawing the cart on which the sacred
chest reposed, stumbled, and Uzzah put forth his hand to steady it.
"And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him
there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God" (v. 7). A
tragic check was this unto the joyous processionóone which should have
produced deep heart-searchings and penitential confession of failure. Has
not God said, "Provoke Me not, and I will do you no harm" (Jer.
25:6)? Therefore, when He does afflict, ought we not to inquire as to
wherein we have "provoked" Him!

Though the displeasure
of God was plainly manifested, yet it did not at first produce the proper
effect. "And David was displeased, because the Lord had made a breach
upon Uzzah" (v. 8). Apparently a measure of self-complacency was at
work in Davidís heart over the important service he was engaged inófor
honoring the ark which had been neglected for so long. Now that things had
gone contrary to his expectations, he was disconcerted, peeved,
"displeased," or as the Hebrew word really signifies,
"angry." His anger was not a righteous indignation against Uzzah
for his affronting God, but because his own plans had gone awry. His own
pride was wounded: the drastic cutting off of Uzzah by divine judgment would
not advance him in the eyes of his subjects; rather was he now
humiliated before them. But the fault was his own, and he ought to have
manfully shouldered the blame, and not acted like a peeved child.

"And David was
displeased (angry) because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah" (v.
8). When the rod of God descends upon us, we are but adding sin to sin if we
become enraged thereby: this is "despising" the chastening of the
Lord, which is expressly forbidden (Heb. 12:5). "And he called the name
of the place Perezuzzah to this day" (v. 8), which, as the margin tells
us, signifies "the breach of Uzzah." Thus did David
memorialize the stroke of God as a warning for posterity to beware of
rashness and irreverence. A solemn contrast may be seen here from what is
recorded in 2 Samuel 5:20, where David changed the name of "the valley
of Rephaim" unto "Baalperazim"ó"the place of breaches"óbecause
"the Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies." In the one he was
celebrating Godís goodness, in the other he was solemnizing Godís
judgment.

The conduct of David on
this occasion was deplorable, for it is highly reprehensible to be angered
by any of the Lordís dealings. But in the light of such warnings, our petulancy
is far worse. David ought to have humbled himself beneath the mighty hand of
God (1 Peter 5:6), confessed his failure and corrected his fault (Prov. 28:
13), and owned Godís righteousness in thus taking vengeance on his
inventions (Ps. 99:8). By so doing he would have put the blame where it
belonged, have set a good example before others, and vindicated the Lord.
Instead, his pride was hurt, his temper was inflamed, and blessing was
missed. Alas, how often has writer and reader failed in a similar manner.
How rarely have we heeded that injunction, "Wherefore glorify ye the
Lord in the fires" (Isa. 24:15): one way of doing which is to judge
ourselves unsparingly and own the need of the flames to purge away our
dross.

"And David was
afraid of the Lord that day, and said, How shall the ark of the Lord come to
me?" (v. 9). The transition is very easy from sudden zeal and joy to
fretfulness and dejection. We are, naturally, creatures of extremes, and the
pendulum quickly swings from earnestness to indolence, from jubilation to
commiseration. He who dares one day to face singlehanded the four hundred
prophets of Baal, next day flees from the threat of Jezebel. He who feared
not to draw his sword in the presence of armed soldiers, trembled before a
maid. They who sang so heartily at the Red Sea, murmured a little later when
their food supplies gave out. Few maintain an even keel amid the varying
tides of life. A measure of servile fear now possessed David, and he would
not venture to bring the ark any nearer his own immediate residence, lest he
too should be destroyed. That holy vessel of the tabernacle which had been
the object of his veneration, now became an occasion of dread.

With the death of Uzzah
a fear came upon David. This exemplifies an important principle: fear always
follows where faith is not in exercise. Said the prophet, "I will trust
and not be afraid" (Isa. 12:2). When the timorous disciples awoke the
Saviour because of their storm-tossed ship, He said, "Why are ye
fearful? O ye of little faith" (Matthew 8:26). When a spirit of
trembling seizes the heart it is a sure sign that faith is at a low ebb. The
promise is, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed
on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee" (Isa. 26:3). Thus, the
fear of David on this occasion is easily accounted for: his faith was
eclipsed. Learn this valuable lesson, dear reader: as soon as you are
conscious of sinking of heart, uneasiness, or alarm, cry unto the Lord for a
strengthening of your faith. Say with the Psalmist, "What time I am
afraid, I will trust in Thee" (Ps. 56:3).

There is another
important principle exemplified by Davidís attitude on this occasion: his
faith was inoperative because his walk was not according to the
revealed will of the Lord. It is true that faith is the gift of God, and
that, unaided, we cannot call it into operation after it is received. Every
exercise of faith, every increase thereof, is to be ascribed unto the
gracious influence of the Holy Spirit. But let it not be forgotten that He
is the Holy Spirit, and will not put a premium upon wrong-doing.
When our ways are contrary to the Rule which we are to walk by, the Spirit
is grieved. When we act in self-will, and then refuse to judge ourselves
under the mark of Godís displeasure, His blessed operations are withheld.
Fearfulness is a sign that faith is inactive, and inactive faith is an
evidence that the Spirit is grieved; and that, in turn, denotes that our
walk is displeasing to God. Learn, then, dear reader, to "Consider your
ways" (Hag. 1:5) when conscious that faith is at a low ebb: clean out
the choked channel and the waters will flow freely again.

"And David was
afraid of the Lord that day, and said, How shall the ark of the Lord come to
me?" Does it not seem strange that David should ask such a question
when the Lord had given dear and definite instructions as to how the
ark should be conducted from place to place? Stranger still, sadder far,
that he would not make right the wrong which he had committed. But alas, it
is not easy to condemn ourselves when we have departed from Godís ways:
even though the providential smile of the Lord be changed into a frown, we
are loath to humble ourselves before Him. How this reveals the
"desperate wickedness" which still remains in our hearts, and how
the realization of this ought to remove pride far from us, cause us to
marvel increasingly at Godís longsuffering with us, and make us more
patient toward our erring brethren.

"So David would
not remove the ark of the Lord unto him, into the city of David: but David
carried it aside into the house of Obededom, the Gittite" (v. 10).
Instead of correcting his fault, we now see David forsaking his own mercy
(Jonah 2:8). The ark was the symbol of the Lordís manifest presence, and that
should be the one thing above all others desired and cherished by the
saint. Moses was deeply conscious of this when he said, "If Thy
presence go not with me, carry us not up hence" (Ex. 33:15). Ah, but to
enjoy the manifest presence of God we must be in the path of obedience:
"he that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that
loveth Me, and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will
love him, and will manifest Myself to him" (John 14:21). Was it
not because he felt he was out of the way of subjection to Godís revealed
will that caused David to now abandon his purpose of bringing up the ark to
Jerusalem? It was a guilty conscience which made him "afraid of the
Lord."

There is a fear of God
which is becoming, spiritual, excellent; but there is also a fear of God
which is hurtful, carnal, worthless: the one is servile, the other filial.
There is a slavish fear which springs from hard thoughts of God, and there
is a holy and laudable fear which issues from lofty thoughts of His majesty.
The one is a terror produced in the mind by apprehensions of evil, the other
is a reverential awe of God which proceeds from right views of His infinite
perfections. The one is the fear of wrath, such as Adam had in Eden, when he
was afraid and hid himself; and such as the demons have, who "believe
and tremble" (James 2: 19). The other is a fear of displeasing One who
is gracious, like children have to dear parents. The one is our treasure,
the other our torment; the one drives from God, the other draws to God; the
one leads to despair, the other to godly activities (Heb. 11:7). The one is
the product of a guilty conscience, the other is the fruit of an enlightened
understanding.

There is a natural fear
and there is a spiritual fear of God. The one hates Him, like a slave his
cruel master; the other loves God, as a child respects and reveres his
father. The one dreads God because of His power and wrath; the other
venerates God because of His holiness and sovereignty. The one engenders to
bondage; the other conduces to worship. Perfect love casts out the former (1
John 4: 18); appropriating Godís promises leads to the furtherance of the
latter (2 Cor. 7:1). When we are walking with God in the light of His Word,
a filial fear directs our ways; but when we depart from His statutes and a
guilty conscience torments us, then a servile fear possesses our hearts.
Hard thoughts are entertained of God. and we dread His anger. The soul is no
longer at ease in His presence, and instead of viewing Him as our loving
Father, we shrink from Him and regard Him as a hard Master. Such was the
condition of David at this time. Alarmed by the divine judgment upon Uzzah,
he was afraid to have anything more to do with the ark.

"But David carried
it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite." That was Davidís
loss; but, as we shall see, it was Obededomís gain. The ark was both the
symbol of Godís manifested presence in the midst of Israel, and a notable
type of the person of the Lord Jesus. In the placing of the ark in the house
of Obededom, following the unbelief of David, there was a prophetic hint
given of the Gentiles receiving what Israel failed to appreciateóso
marvelously does God overrule even the failures of His people. Obededom was
a Gittite, and the "Gittites" were Philistines (Josh.
13:3), the inhabitants of Gath (1 Chron. 20:5), yet many of them were
devoted to the person and interests of David (2 Sam. 5:18-21). Thus it was
dispensationally: "It was necessary that the Word of God should first
have been spoken to you (Jews): but seeing ye put it from you, and judge
yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles"
(Acts 13:46).

"And the ark of
the Lord continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months"
(v. 11). After the awful death of Uzzah, and the fear of David to have
anything further to do with the ark, it had scarcely been surprising had
this Gittite refused to shelter the sacred coffer. As a Philistine, it is
likely that he was acquainted with the trouble it had caused in the temple
of Dagon (1 Sam. 5:2-4) and of the plague it brought upon the Ashdodites (1
Sam. 5:6). Anxious enough were they to get rid of the ark (1 Sam. 6), yet
now we find one of their countrymen providing a home for it in his own
house. Doubtless he had been truly converted unto the Lord, and therefore
esteemed whatever pertained to His worship. It is beautifully significant
that his name "Obed" means servant, and here we find him
rendering a true service unto God.

"And the Lord
blessed Obededom, and all his household" (v. 11). Need we be surprised
at this? God will be no manís debtor: as He declared, "Them that
honour Me, I will honour" (1 Sam. 2:30). It is ever so. After Laban had
received the fugitive Jacob into his family, he acknowledged, "I have
learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake" (Gen.
30:27). When His servant was befriended by Potiphar, we read, "The Lord
blessed the Egyptianís house for Josephís sake" (Gen. 39:5).
Through giving shelter unto Godís prophet the widow of Zarephath was
rewarded by having her son restored to life (1 Kings 17:23). How much more
may we be sure of receiving Godís rich blessing when His dear Sonóto
whom the ark pointedóis given the throne of our hearts.

"And the Lord
blessed Obededom, and all his household." By the indwelling Spirit the
Lord has promised to manifest Himself to the believer. The presence of the
Lord in our lives and in our homes is the limitless source, if we will, of
divine blessing. The blessing will depend upon our servant attitude
to that Presence or Spirit. If we take the place of a true "Obed,"
surrendering ourselves to His sway, the Lord will make our way prosperous.
If in all things we give Christ the pre-eminence, so far from being the
losers thereby, we shall be immeasurably the gainers, both now and
hereafter. O may He who moved Obed to take in the ark, open our hearts to
receive Christ in all His fulness.